Physarum sporangia

Lamberts, William wrote:
>> Plant-edders
>> I am planning a lab involving the acellular slime mold Physarum. I would like
> my students to be able to observe the sporangia. Can anyone tell what
> conditions will induce the formation of sporangia?
>Once a plasmodium reaches a reasonable size, exposure to light and a
little less water will cause sporulation. I raise them on #1 filter
paper in the lid of a disposable petri dish (yes, use it upside down).
The filter paper should be wet, but no excess moisture. Feed the
plasmodium a few grains of rolled oats. I keep the plates in plastic
bags in a drawer. I transfer the plasmodium to new filter paper (cut
out the plasmodium bearing portion) every 3d day. To see cytoplasmic
streaming transfer a plasmodium to a thin layer of oatmeal agar & when
the plasmodium has streamed off the paper & onto the agar, the entire
plate can be put under a microscope. The spores will germinate into
amoeboid gametes on oatmeal agar, but they're very small. Oh yes,
sterile conditions don't matter much, the slime mold consumes bacteria
and other molds.